SAN LUIS, AZ — Students in Arizona, Mexico border communities are graduating at higher rates than the statewide average, data shows. School leaders say they’ve had programs in place to improve their students’ academic outcomes.
Ashley Beltran, a San Luis High School senior, is among those students graduating. She will walk out San Luis High and into the University of Arizona to study law, becoming the first generation in her family to go to college.
"It feels pretty nerve-wracking to be the first one to do this, because my mom, she didn't, she had me a young age and didn't have the chance to pursue higher education or a career," Beltran said.
The numbers
According to data from the Arizona Department of Education, three border cities have had graduation rates at or above the state average since 2019.
Last year's statewide graduation rate average was 79%. Nogales Unified had an 83% graduation rate, Douglas Unified came in at 84% and Yuma Union High School District exceeded all of them at 92%. These numbers have consistently hovered at or a little higher than the past few years, Arizona Department of Education data shows.
It’s also not just about graduation rates. The districts are also consistently seeing higher college-going rates as well as FAFSA completion rates.
According to data from the ASU Helios Decision Center for Educational Excellence from 2022, the college-going rate for the state is 48.3%. For San Luis High School, it’s at 77%. For Nogales High School, 69%, and Douglas High School, 75%.
As for FAFSA completion, the Yuma Union High School District was recently honored with having the highest completion rate in the large school district category. Yuma Union said its FAFSA completion rate is 59.4%. As of May 7, the statewide completion rate for the class of 2026 was at 42.85%, according to the Arizona Board of Regents. For years, Arizona has sat at the bottom for FAFSA completion rates.
How they made it happen
Beltran said the data reflects something meaningful for students in border communities.
"We've heard all the stories that they come over here to give us the kids a better life. To hear that the kids are pursuing higher education and that we're doing what our parents fought for us to do, it's really nice," Beltran said of immigrant parents.
Living near the border and going to the school, she said, there are perceptions some may have looking at border communities.
"Based on stereotypes and things like that, I don't think you think one would expect border towns to have really high graduation rates," Beltran said.
Yuma Union High School District Superintendent Tim Brienza said the results did not come quickly. It took years to make this happen.
“Being involved in education here in Yuma County for 30 years, it makes me proud of the work our teachers, our community, our classified staff in just preparing every student,” Brienza said.
The Yuma Union High School District partnered with the Helios Education Foundation years ago. Through that, a $4 million grant helped overhaul the district’s entire curriculum and the initiative was dubbed Ready Now Yuma.
"With their partnership, we adopted the Cambridge curriculum, which is a rigorous curriculum for every student,” said Brienza.
Vince Yanez of the Helios Education Foundation said the district creates a college-going culture that the community buys into.
"They're doing a tremendous job and it's not a blip," Yanez said.
San Luis High School Principal Leticia Anaya said the school has increased the percentage of students pursuing higher education while they’re in high school over the years.
"Every year, we've made gains in being able to raise that percentage with that, we've paired it with dual opportunities, AP classes," Anaya said.
Keeping the momentum going
More students are now taking dual enrollment courses through Arizona Western College at $30 per credit. Brienza said enrollment in those courses has grown significantly over the last four or five years.
“Because people are looking at the bottom line. Education is expensive and if they can get it at an affordable cost with our partnership with Arizona Western College, it makes a huge difference," Brienza said.
The district plans to go even further, covering the cost of concurrent enrollment courses in the next school year.
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"So it will be at no cost for the child," Brienza said.
The difference between concurrent and dual enrollment: Brienza said students taking dual enrollment are learning from teachers that are paid by the district and they’re also on their campuses. Concurrent courses are taught by an Arizona Western College professor.
Through the partnership with AWC, there are some satellite campuses near their high schools that students can easily attend.
Some students are now getting their Associate’s Degree as the graduate high school. The district also added they’ve had at least one who completed a Bachelor’s Degree when they completed high school.
“We’ve made some plans and put some systems in place in order to make sure we provide the most opportunity for our students to make sure they can go onto some postsecondary options, whether it's career, college or whatever that may be,” Anaya said.
The district said more than 2,000 students out of their 11,000 enrollment are taking advantage of dual or concurrent enrollment courses.
The district also places dropout prevention specialists in every school. Career and Technical Education teacher and preschool director Vanessa Correa said the motivation among students is clear.
"Some of them are first-generation students and they wanted to achieve the opportunities their parents didn't have and take advantage of it," Correa said.
Yanez said the drive among students in border communities runs deep.
"There's something there in this first-generation immigrant experience where families just moved here from out of country. Their parents have sacrificed a lot and there's an expectation that these students are going to take advantage of that. And many of them clearly are," Yanez said.
For Beltran and her classmates, walking across the graduation stage represents more than a diploma; it is a path their parents worked hard to make possible for them.
“I'm just excited to have these achievements that my mom wasn’t able to and it’s nice because she expresses how proud she is of me,” Beltran said. “I'm just glad I'm able to show results in all her hard work and she can see I'm pursuing a higher education."
